Thulasidas

MUMBAI: Air India is open to acquisitions abroad to consolidate operations overseas, particularly in Europe, its chairman V Thulasidas said on Monday. "We are open to expanding overseas. Acquisitions in Europe could be explored," Thulasidas said when asked to comment on the carrier's expansion plans. Thulasidas also said the merger of Indian and Air India would be accomplished by end of next month and necessary formalities in this connection were being completed in the Ministry of...

MUMBAI: Former Air India Executive Director Jitendra Bhargava reiterated his stand today on the national air carrier's downfall, which he has narrated in his recently published book 'The Descent of Air India'. Reacting to former Air India Chairman and Managing Director V Thulasidas' article in an English daily questioning Bhargava's "credibility", the latter said, "Instead of apologising for what he did to Air India, he has taken a stand claiming that he has...

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Air-India is poised to go through with its IPO this fiscal itself, and significantly enhance its budget airline operations. A-I CMD V Thulasidas said the final decision on the IPO is expected soon and it planned to go through with the IPO this fiscal itself. "We have appointed Merrill Lynch as the advisors and their report is expected within a month and a half. Following that a formal proposal will be given to the government and we hope...

MUMBAI: V Thulasidas, an IAS officer of Tripura cadre of 1972 batch, will take over as chairman and managing director of Air-India tomorrow. Thulasidas, who was additional secretary in the Defence Ministry, has been appointed as CMD for three years by the Government, according to a notification issued on December 19. Sunil Arora, chairman and managing director of Indian Airlines, has been holding additional charge as managing director of...

NEW DELHI: Spineless management teams subservient to self-serving political masters coupled with irresponsible employee behaviour have killed Air India . In what is positioned as a tell-all book by an insider, AI's ex-executive director Jitendra Bhargava is sharp on former CMD V Thulasidas — "his master's voice" — and ex-civil aviation minister Praful Patel , who have been blamed for "the descent of Air India" , which is also the...

MUMBAI: A newly formed umbrella body of trade unions of Air India has sought a CBI probe against former CMD V Thulasidas alleging misuse of power by him during his tenure, a charge denied by him. The Federation of NACIL Employees Union, comprising four organisations, has shot off a letter to Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel and also sought the setting up of a Parliamentary committee to look into the "merger" and losses suffered...

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Air India would start 11 new services in the Thiruvananthapuram-Gulf sector, linking Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah, Air India Mananging Director V Thulasidas said on Wednesday. The new services would be launched on February 18, he said in a brief chat with reporters here. Thiruvananthapuram would soon be made an engineering base of Air India. The base would be set up as a Joint Venture between Boeing and Air...

NEW DELHI: Air India chairman V Thulasidas would directly look after the full-service airline businesses of National Aviation company of India (NACIL) formed by the merger of public sector airlines Air India and Indian. Vishwapati Trivedi, joint managing director, would be in charge of the low-cost airline business. The ministry also revamped the board of the merged entity to include N Vaghul of ICICI as an independent director. Raghu Menon and RK Singh,...

MUMBAI: Air India, which is looking at a possible tie-up with Serbia's national carrier Jugoslavenski Aerotransport (JAT) for expanding European operations, on Friday said about 20 JAT pilots have already joined its low cost carrier - Air India Express. "The Serbian airline and Air India have started to work together. About 20 JAT pilots have joined Air India Express and additional 10 pilots would join soon," Air India Chairman V Thulasidas, who will head the merged Air India-Indian, said.

BANGALORE: Air India is hiring over 150 pilots over the next 18 months as part of its expansion plans, the airline Chairman and Managing Director, V Thulasidas, said on Friday. "We have about 39 pilots undergoing training right now and plan to recruit about 150 pilots in the next one and a half years," Thulasidas told reporters on the sidelines of the 13th International Aviation Conference, which began today. Refusing to be drawn into the controversy over the Shiv Sena's allegations that...

AGARTALA: Air India's corporate vision has been reformulated to make it more competitive, Chairman and Managing Director V Thulasidas said here on Saturday. We have reformulated our vision to make Air India more competitive and compatible to launch new flights to South Africa, Nigeria, Australia, Beijing, Washington, San Fransisco, Manchester and Seoul, Thulasidas told reporters. The AI CMD said the airline would soon launch service of some medium capacity ultra-long range...

NEW DELHI: Raghu Menon, Special Secretary and Financial Advisor in the civil aviation ministry, has been appointed the Chairman and Managing Director of Air India, ending weeks of speculation over the issue. The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet approved the name of Menon, a 1974 batch IAS officer of the Assam-Nagaland cadre, after a keen race for the top job in the National Aviation Company of India Limited (NACIL), which runs the merged national carrier. There...

NEW DELHI: The name of the new chief of Air India is likely to be announced on Wednesday, that would end weeks of speculation over the issue. The position of Chairman and Managing Director of the National Aviation Company of India Limited (NACIL) would fall vacant on March 31, the day V Thulasidas retires. Highly-placed sources said an announcement of the new CMD is likely on Wednesday. Names of several Secretary and Additional Secretary...

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Air India would start 11 new services in the Thiruvananthapuram-Gulf sector, linking Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah, Air India Mananging Director V Thulasidas said on Wednesday. The new services would be launched on February 18, he said in a brief chat with reporters here. Thiruvananthapuram would soon be made an engineering base of Air India. The base would be set up as a Joint Venture between Boeing and Air...

NEW DELHI: The process of selecting a replacement for V Thulasidas, chairman & managing director of National Aviation Company India, which was created through the merger of Air India and Indian, has entered the final phase. From a total of 55 applications, 16 have been shortlisted by the three-member sub-committee, which consists of the Public Enterprises Selection Board chairman, secretary, civil aviation, and secretary, personnel. These 16 names...

MUMBAI: National air-carrier Air India on Thursday said it has been formally invited to join the world's premier airline grouping Star Alliance. A formal invitation was extended to Air India's Chairman V Thulasidas during Star Alliance's Board meeting in Beijing today. Following the invitation, Air India will announce the date of joining the alliance soon, he said. "It will be a win-win situation for both Air India and Star...

KOCHI: National carrier Air India plans to introduce more flights on the Gulf-Kozhikode sector after completion of the Haj pilgrimage. The AI has introduced 20 per cent more flights on the sector in its winter schedule, which came into effect from October, Airlines Chairman and Managing Director, V Thulasidas told reporters here. From Kozhikode, the airlines was operating maximum number of flights and there was a demand for more. After Haj...

NEW DELHI: Country's flag carrier Air India is likely to take a decision on buying long haul aircraft like Airbus A-380 in December after studying a variety of aircraft. "The requirements for more aircraft is for the period post 2011-12, when the current order of 111 aircraft would have been completed. "At the moment we are involved in a study to estimate how many aircraft are required and what variety these should be. We are taking a...